Manchester United makes its move

As SI.com's soccer editor, I'm able to pull news stories from three different sources: The Associated Press, Goal.com and Soccer America. But never have I seen so many stories -- with separate hooks -- on one single topic. The Kaká-to-Manchester City saga was a news explosion, regardless of the eventuality that the 2007 FIFA World Player of the Year was staying put at AC Milan. In fact, we probably could have started out own mini-site on the one topic.

Still, in sifting through the mile-a-minute Kaká-fest (how's that for apropos?) over the past two weeks, I got a good laugh from two quotes in particular:

"It's not always about money. There is not one player in that dressing room that cares about money before football."
-- David Beckham, who's obviously not well educated in the beauty of irony.

"If we don't get Kaká, it is not the end of the world -- we got Craig Bellamy."
-- Man. City executive chairman Gerry Cook, who hopefully has a Masters in it.

And with that...

Note: All rankings, records and statistics are through Jan. 21.

World Soccer Power Rankings

1 Previously: 1	FC Barcelona Since we last checked in on the Camp Nou superheroes, they've won another two league games by a combined 8-2. Know how we keep wondering when the other boot will drop? Maybe there's something to this: Pep Guardiola clearly is desperate to avoid the complacency that has plagued Barça the past couple seasons; El Mundo Deportivo is reporting that he's cracking the whip so hard on the Blaugrana, they're exhausted. The manager reportedly sent temperamental Samuel Eto'o (who else?) to the showers early during practice for dogging it.
2 Previously: 6	Manchester United Raise your hand if you're surprised Man. United is back in first in the Premier League. Now go sit in the corner for your ignorance. With a game still in hand, the defending champs lead Liverpool on goal-differential, and are demonstrating how a team with boundless depth can fend off injury troubles. And in another "duh" development, the International Federation of Football History & Statistics has voted Sir Alex Ferguson as the top manager in soccer over the past 12 years. Now raise your hand if you don't think the latter has anything to do with the former.
3 Previously: 2	Liverpool Liverpool's once-inspiring lead is burning to cinders almost as fast as Rafa Benítez's bridges with nearly all of his superiors. The Spaniard is steadfastly refusing to sign the extension American owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks are offering, and is supposedly on the outs with old chum and club chief Rick Parry. And let's not even get started on Rafa's completely misguided diatribe toward Man. United's Fergie. On the pitch, the Reds haven't lost in 11 straight EPL matches, but they haven't won much lately, either -- six of those results were costly draws.
4 Previously: 3	Inter Milan Oh, the dropoff from No. 3. How Inter failed to win two straight games against teams in the middle of the Serie A table is beyond me, but you come to expect all kinds of midseason controversy from this club. You wonder if José Mourinho was having some sort of laugh by starting two of his least favorite players -- Hernán Crespo and Nicolás Burdisso -- in Inter's embarrassing 3-1 loss to Atalanta last weekend. My guess is that he was hoping they'd play well against a middling team in the hopes he could drive their transfer price up. Oops.
5 Previously: 4	Juventus Juve had a golden chance to draw even with Serie A-leading Inter -- and overtake it here on the Rankings -- last weekend. But the Bianconeri blew it in Rome, drawing 1-1 with Lazio, breaking their string of five straight league wins. Cristian Zanetti says Juve can catch Inter, and if that's going to happen, it had better start making up ground now. After Saturday's showdown with Fiorentina, its next five Serie A matches are against teams in the bottom half of the standings.
6 Previously: 5	Bayern Munich Lukas Podolski's move back to Cologne is in motion, though not until the end of the season. That clears the way for Landon Donovan to stake his claim in the striker rotation. And so far during the Bundesliga break, he's making a case. He has scored in two friendlies thus far, including this beauty against FC Kaiserslautern on Monday that's reminiscent of his header against Mexico in the '02 World Cup. Hopefully the language is already in place for a set fee in his loan deal if Bayern decides to buy him outright from MLS; if not, he could be driving up his own transfer cost.
7 Previously: --	Real Madrid It's almost unbelievable Real keeps winning considering the unsavoriness surrounding the club right now. Slimy Ramón Calderón has finally stepped down after 2½ years as club president, leaving scandal in his wake. Who's waiting in the wings? The equally slimy old jefe, Florentino Pérez -- promising, of course, to lure Kaká and Arsène Wenger to the Bernabéu. Meanwhile, the current manager, Juande Ramos, has Madrid on a four-game winning streak in La Liga and back in second place.
8 Previously: 7	Chelsea I hate to sound like a broken record, but considering how broken Chelsea is, I'm shocked Luiz Felipe Scolari has been able to keep the Blues from a total freefall. Chelsea is not as deep as Man. U, which is something that needs to be addressed either in this transfer window or this summer. To make matters worse, Joe Cole -- who I still contend is Chelsea's most creative player -- is the latest addition to the walking wounded, out for the season with a torn ACL. If Big Phil is forced to fall on the sword, I think that'll be the biggest shame of all. Despite all that, this group is still amazingly only two points off the pace in the EPL.
9 Previously: 9	Boca Juniors The most interesting news from Boca camp as the preseason rolls on is the apparent war of words with Getafe. The Argentine champs are trying to bring unhappy keeper Roberto "El Pato" Abbondanzieri home, but contend the suburban Madrid club is trying to strong-arm them into an inflated transfer fee. Getafe president Ángel Torres denies the claims, and shot back in Buenos Aires daily Olé that Boca GM Carlos Bianchi "threw himself into a sink without water." For what it's worth, 36-year-old Abbondanzieri is second only to Guillermo Barros Schelotto in trophies won in a Boca jersey, with 14.
10 Previously: 8	São Paulo The three-time Brazilian champs kicked off their Paulista Championship tournament campaign on Wednesday, trying to win back their state title for the first time in four years. More important is the news that the club has extended manager Muricy Ramalho's contract through next season, locking up the guy who guided São Paulo to three straight Brazilian titles. He could help them win back the Copa Libertadores, too -- that is, if he isn't hired to coach the Brazilian national team, a distinct possibility if Dunga keeps bumbling along in World Cup qualifying.
Honorable mentions: Aston Villa, TSG Hoffenheim, AC Milan, Olympique Lyonnais, FC Porto, Hamburger SV, Ajax Amsterdam, CSKA Moscow, Olympiakos, FC Twente, Arsenal Dropped off: FC Porto